Tag Archives: Xbox Live

Remember when Microsoft announced that Facebook and Twitter would be integrated into Xbox Live at the last E3? Hopefully you have a Gold membership, because those are the only people that are going to get those features. Silver Member’s will get “free trials”, and we have no clue yet on what exactly those are. That will be $50 a year, please.

Today, a Zune branded 1080p instant-on streaming content has been announced by Microsoft among other things and will debut in 18 countries. Facebook users can now link their account their Gamertag, and games will support Facebook Connect for sharing content online. Twitter and Last.fm are also included in the deal. Adding to that, Netflix users will now be able to browse the entire catalog instead of simply loading their queue, and Microsoft has bandaged their “Party Watch” system, so you’ll be able to watch videos with your online friends. Last but not least, there’s now live TV streaming for UK and Ireland gamers, who’ll get Premier League soccer live from Sky.

“The new Party Watch system works like the following: [Below from Engadget]

Video startup is nearly instantaneous because of the back-end proprietary Microsoft technology developed by Zune that seamlessly transitions between many different bitrates and resolutions of video.

Video playback will start at a low bitrate for fast download time and then ramp up to a higher bitrate and quality, up to 1080p with 5.1 audio.

Features such as smooth fast forward and rewind that users have only seen before with local physical media.

It doesn’t stop there. Other news coming out of E3 for Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace:

Social: We unveiled Movie Party, a feature where you can go to the movies with your friends whether you are sitting on the same couch or in living rooms across the country. Starting this year, you can share a virtual theater, see your Avatars (a virtual you) on the screen – all while you listen to each other laugh and cry together at the movie through voice chat on Xbox LIVE.

New Regional Partners: Now, for the first time Xbox LIVE members in the UK and Ireland can watch live or on-demand TV with BSkyB on Xbox. Never miss a moment of your favorite live TV shows, sports, movies and family-friendly entertainment – even share your favorites with up to seven friends in an Xbox LIVE Party.

XBL will also be adding a Games on Demand Marketplace on August 30th to sell full games online that match retail price. Here’s the best thing-you won’t have to use a XBL Point system. That’s right, just enter that credit card and pump out some games.

NINTENDO BEWARE

Anyways, the most important, most amazing, most astounding feature of today, has to be Project Natal. Project Natal, that being a small black box which sits below your TV similar to the Wii’s yet bigger, will handle multiple users and will detect every move you make, like kicking a soccer ball with your feet, or punching something with your hand. No controller will be needed. No released date so far.

Although 1 vs. 100 was supposed to come out last year with the New Xbox Experience, Microsoft held it off til’ now. The Beta is currently out in Canada, and the game show itself is a few months away from the actual release. The game will feature your Xbox Live avatars and you play against 100 other people in a trivia game show. Your goal is to get more questions right than any other person. For prizes, you will get Microsoft points. Microsoft has scheduled the game to be played on Fridays and Saturdays. Check out the trailer below and visit 1UP for more details.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes will be coming to Xbox Live and PSN this summer. If you are a PS3 user, you don’t have to wait til’ summer to get your hands on this. That’s right! Marvel vs. Capcom 2 demo is exclusive to PSN (US) until it comes out on Xbox Live during the actual release. The cool part is, the demo just came out today. So what are you waiting for? Turn on your PS3 and log into PSN to get your hands on this demo. If you don’t have a free PSN account yet, I feel bad for you.